 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Alexander11/17/2004
REVERSED; ACQUITTAL ORDERED.
On April 18, 2001, at 6:30 a.m., Michael Alexander shot and killed Frederick Victorian. He was charged with manslaughter in violation of La.R.S. 14:31(A)(1). Following a bench trial, Mr. Alexander was convicted of negligent homicide, a responsive verdict for manslaughter. La.R.S. 14:32. He was sentenced to five years at hard labor, suspended, three years supervised probation, a fine of two thousand five hundred dollars, and one thousand hours of community service.
For the following reasons, we reverse the conviction.
Discussion
Defendant admits shooting Mr. Victorian but asserts that he did so in self-defense. He urges that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Louisiana Revised Statute 14:20 provides that a homicide is justifiable:
(1) When committed in self-defense by one who reasonably believes that he is in imminent danger of losing his life or receiving great bodily harm and that the killing is necessary to save himself from that danger.
When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, appellate courts are controlled by the standard enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), and must determine "whether the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 (La.1984). When a defendant claims that he acted in self-defense, the State has the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not act in self-defense. State v. Brown, 414 So.2d 726 (La.1982). Defendant argues that the State failed to carry its burden of proof on this issue. Therefore, we must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not act in self-defense. State v. Matthews,464 So.2d 298 (La.1985).
Sadly, the scenario surrounding Mr. Victorian's death is not uncommon: a jealous husband (Mr. Victorian) seeks out his wife (Donna Coleman) and the new man in her life (Defendant), and tragedy results. Mr. Victorian and Donna Coleman were married on May 17, 1996; they had two children. Ms. Coleman separated from Mr. Victorian in September 2000; she filed for divorce on March 9, 2001. At Defendant's trial, Ms. Coleman described herself as a victim of domestic violence. She testified that Mr. Victorian often accused her of having affairs with other men and that he had physically and mentally abused her. She gave specific examples of his abuse: putting guns to her head and knives to her throat; smashing her face into a car window for talking to a pharmacist at a T-ball game; and beating her and accusing her of having sex with a doctor after she received a free sample of medicine for their son.
Ms. Coleman filed complaints against Mr. Victorian with the Oakdale Police Department on October 25, 2000, and November 25, 2000. The October 25, 2000 complaint alleged that they had gotten into an argument because she went to a banquet, and he accused her of sitting next to a white man. The complaint also stated that he had hit her in the face and gone to her place of employment looking for her administrator. The November 25, 2000 complaint was that Mr. Victorian was following her and that she was scared of him. When she filed for divorce, Ms. Coleman obtained a restraining order against him. Mr. Victorian filed a complaint against Ms. Coleman on December 26, 2000, in which he alleged that she had stolen his .380 cali
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Louisiana DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|